Fix it, Sabo!
by InsanelyWriteful
Summary: Sabo comes home to find that he really can't leave Ace and Luffy alone without some catastrophic event taking place in his absence. Now it is up to him to deal with the ultimate horror: A crying Luffy. Hints of AceXSaboXLuffy(AceLuBo), but can be seen as brotherly. Reuploaded from Tumblr.


**Author's Note** **:** Back at it again with more ASL/Acelubo~ :D Another reupload from Tumblr while I've been dealing with some real life issues and trying to get back into the flow of things in writing. This was my submission for the theme of "Tears" during ASL Week. The support I've gotten thus far has been really wonderful and I want to thank you all! I have a question if anyone wishes to throw in their vote: Since I have a number of ASL oneshots, would you rather they be grouped together in one big story an updated piece at a time or remain separately uploaded?

Also, once again, I thank the beautiful BeyondKailani for beta-ing this for me. You're so very wonderful, dear~

 _ **.oOo**_ _._

Sabo was having a pretty ordinary day. He'd left Ace and Luffy at home for a little while to go pick up a few things at the store that they were low on. He knew if he brought them along the simple trip for eggs, milk, bread and butter would turn into a giant, hours-long adventure full of them thinking with their stomachs, spending way more money than they had and doing a few other things Sabo really wouldn't understand how had come about later on. Ace and Luffy, as silly or childish as they could be (Sabo could admit he could act that way from time to time, too), were perfectly capable of looking after themselves and staying entertained for at least half an hour.

Or so Sabo thought.

After opening the door to their home, setting the coffee he'd treated himself to on the side table so he could juggle the bags and push the door open, Ace ran into the hall.

The blonde looked up, a smile forming on his face. "Hey, Ac—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Ace rushed over and grabbed him, jerking him back and forth, a panicked look on his face.

Cursing under his breath and struggling with the bags, Sabo nudged him back with his foot. There was only one reason why Ace ever looked panicked.  
 _  
Shit. What happened to Luffy?!_

"Ace, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked, voice steady, hoping to calm the emotional man down.

"It's Luffy!" the dark haired male got out, gesturing behind him, jerkily, still out of sorts.

" _What_ about Luffy?!" Sabo growled out a bit when Ace pulled him forward by his jacket.

Ace looked back over his shoulder at him, so horrified that his face was pale.

 _IS LUFFY DEAD?!_

"Luffy's . . . " the freckled man paused, seeming almost too pained to go on. Sabo gulped, air catching in his throat as fear started rising within him. "Luffy's . . . _crying!_ "

. . .

 _Ace . . . what the fuck . . ._ Sabo, mentally, shook his head at his excitable friend. _And here I thought something was actually wrong._

Though he was relieved that it was nothing serious, this sort of situation happened all too often. Ace said something stupid that upset Luffy and he can't figure out what he did wrong or how to fix it. The more upset Luffy became, the more Ace resorts to just smacking him over the head as he did when they were children. The more he does that, the more upset Luffy gets from the unfair treatment. Aaannnndd, Sabo would have to come in and fix things.

"What would you idiots do without me . . . " Sabo mumbled under his breath.

"I don't know what to do! I don't know what went wrong! He bugged me until I agreed to play his stupid video game that he will _not_ stop bragging over beating me in! Two seconds later, he's crying all over the place! If you saw his face, you would be with me on this one! He's so fuckin' sad and I feel like an asshole and WHAT DO I DO?!"

Panic mode level: High

Sabo sighed, preparing himself to take on Ace in his current state when Luffy suddenly drifted into the room, missing his usual cheer and lightness to him. Light sniffling and the sound of snot being sucked up was very loud in the silence that followed his entrance. His black bangs shadowed his eyes as he shuffled forward, clearly still upset.

"Hey, Sabo," he muttered, sounding _so_ not like the Luffy he loved.

Sabo had to cough to stop himself from laughing out loud when Ace jerked away and quickly faked a casually relaxed pose in the hopes that Luffy wouldn't notice how freaked out he was. The lengths Ace would go sometimes to keep up a certain image with Luffy really boggled the blonde's mind at times.

"Huh?" the freckled man said in a bored and slightly angry tone. "You're _still_ crying? You're such a baby," He crossed his arms and looked away, pretending Luffy's sadness had no effect on him.

Bullshit.

Luffy's head shot up, his red-shot eyes adding even more anger to his infuriated face. "I'm NOT a baby! Shitty Ace!" he yelled at the top of his lungs before storming out of the room.

A long run of stomps up the stairs was finished off with a loud slam of Luffy's bedroom door getting shut.

Ace, immediately, dropped the blasé façade and returned a worried gaze towards Sabo. "He's MORE upset! What do I do?!"

Sabo stared at him for a moment. ". . . _not_ that."

In the usual last resort effort area with Ace, he was led to anger. "Well, Mr. Smart Guy, why don't _you_ fix it if you know how?"

The blonde rolled his eyes, wondering if Ace would ever learn to say the simple phrase: 'I screwed up, Sabo, please help me out of the mess I made. You're the greatest and I bow before you.'

It really wasn't so hard to say.

Before Sabo could say anything, the other stomped out of the room in a huff.

". . . yeah, of course, no problem. No need to thank me, Ace. I'm happy to help," Sabo said, only a little irritated at being brushed off.

Heaving a big breath, Sabo first made a quick stop in the kitchen to put away the groceries. With that chore done, he made his way up the stairs, getting ready to handle a sad Luffy.

Even if it wasn't the end of the world Ace made it out to be . . . dealing with a sad Luffy _was_ torture. Sabo paused at Luffy's door, knuckles a moment away from knocking, fear striking him in the gut a bit. The start was always the hardest part for him. Actually reaching out and beginning something. Being the first to put out a helping hand when he was so used to hanging back and watching things unfold. Being forced into the fray was uncomfortable territory for him, but Luffy and Ace were very important to him. Seeing them hurt was worse than drifting out of his comfort zone. Knowing Luffy was sitting inside, alone and hurting, was what finally gave Sabo the final push to knock on the door.

"Lu?" he called out, uncertain of his reception.

"Is Ace there?" came the quiet inquiry.

"No," Sabo answered, which was true, but he knew Ace was hanging back on the stairs, waiting till he walked in and wouldn't notice him eavesdropping. The dork should know by now that he was hardly subtle.

"You can come in. Not Ace." The stubborn, but firm conditions were announced.

"All right, all right," he spoke in a soothing manner, opening the door and letting himself in before shutting it quietly.

And there Luffy was, lying on his side on his messy bed, arms crossed, pout in place. He refused to look at Sabo as he made his way across the room and crouched to get down to eye level with him, determined to stay mad. Sabo's mouth quirked up at the childish act.

He ruffled his sworn brother's hair. "Pissed off, huh?"

The younger grumbled, still refusing to look at him, but he didn't swat his hand away. "Yeah."

A soft chuckle slipped past the elder's lips, continuing to pet Luffy's hair. "What happened?"

Luffy's eyes narrowed. "Ace is a meanie!" he declared, vehemently.

Sabo made a few soft noises in his throat, helping Luffy settle back down. Him getting riled up was a bad idea. Especially when Ace was right outside. The last thing his conscience needed was more guilt than he was already throwing on himself.

"What did he do?" he asked, shifting, his legs getting a little sore from the position.

Luffy, seeing the small movement out of the corner of his eye, sat up and pulled Sabo over to sit next to him. After flopping and, effectively, attaching himself to Sabo's side and getting comfortable with his head on Sabo's chest, he hummed, pleased that Sabo returned to running his fingers through his hair.

". . . I beat him at the game again."

Oh. Ace had probably been _thrilled_ about that . . .

"He said that it didn't count. That I'd still never be able to beat you and him in real life." Sabo felt the silent tears soak his shirt. "I've been training so hard. Every day. I want to be as great as you guys! I thought I was there . . ." Luffy tried to hide his sniffling, but he couldn't keep it back. "Guess I am just a baby . . ."

Sabo rubbed his back. "Hey, shhh, it's all right. You're not a baby."

"Yeah I am. Otherwise I wouldn't be crying." Luffy's frustration with himself was very clear.

"It's okay to cry. Everybody does it," he reasoned.

Luffy perked up at that. "Even Ace?"

Sabo laughed. "Yeah, even Ace. You should have seen him earlier! Blubbering alllll over the place~" He mentally smiled, giving himself a pat on the back, knowing Ace had heard and was most likely seething.

Luffy frowned. "Why was he crying?"

Sabo hesitated. Ace _had_ been freaking out, but he hadn't been crying at all. He was just telling a little white lie to make Luffy feel better, really. He hadn't expected Luffy to take it farther. Well, might as well stick to the lie and pull a little truth into it. "He was sad. He thought you hated him."

The black haired boy sat up, looking Sabo in the eye. "Why would he think a stupid thing like that?"

The blonde smiled. "Ace is stupid~"

Luffy laughed at that. "Shishishishi! You're right! How could I ever hate Ace? He's dumb!"

Sabo, in a rare moment of intimate affection, scattered butterfly kisses over Luffy's cheeks, brushing the tears away. "Just remember, you're really strong and Ace doesn't mean what he says." He tweaked his nose. "Besides, you're not _nearly_ as big of a crybaby as you were when you were little~"

Luffy grumbled a bit at that, but then a grin formed and he laughed along with Sabo, pleased that all was right in the world again.

"Ace! Get in here and stop moping around!" Sabo called out.

A _thump!_ sounded from outside Luffy's door, obviously indicating that Ace had tripped at the sound of being spoken to directly.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered, throwing his arms up in the air. "I wanna give Ace a hug!"

"Hugs are for babies, too!"

The response was almost too predictable. Couldn't the idiot just learn to accept a little affection?

Luffy looked up at Sabo, a questioning look on his face. Sabo shook his head in answer, knowing Luffy was concerned on whether hugs were now a baby thing to do, too. The younger glanced back at the door, his face pulling into a frown, trying to think of how to deal with Ace.

Fortunately, Sabo knew just how to handle someone like Ace.

"Guess I get Luffy and his hugs allllll to myself then~" Sabo smiled, cheekily, hugging his little brother and flopping backwards with a bundle of laughing Luffy in his arms.

The door smacked against the wall and Ace was storming into the room before Sabo's back hit the bed. "What the hell, Sabo?!"

"Yay!" Luffy celebrated, naturally thinking Ace had submitted to his will, before yanking him down to pile up on top of them. Luffy hugged them tight, twisting his legs up with Sabo's and burying his face in Ace's chest. "This is nice," he mumbled, giving them both a squeeze.

Sabo looked from Luffy content face to Ace's blushing one, who was trying to hide his embarrassment. He smiled, warmly, hugging them back, strongly, coming to a conclusion.

 _This is happiness._

 _ **.oOo**_ _._

 _End note:_ Thank you, as ever, for reading. Please review if you have the time!


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